An electromagnetic relay is described in German Patent No. 34 23 270. The relay includes a magnet system and a base group. Each of these modular units can be manufactured separately, so that functional testing and measurement tests can be carried out separately for each modular unit. Modular units which have been thus prepared are joined together in an assembly process, contact being created between electrical components and connector elements assigned to a base plate of the base group.
The base plate has recesses that leave space on either side of a given connector element in the area around a contact, this being designed as a weld point, so that a welding tool can be introduced.
If the contact between a connector element and a component is created in this way, the relay is more difficult to manufacture, as additional material is required for welding, stray particles and spatter have to be collected, and the tolerance for the position of the weld is very narrow.
To ensure that the welding machine can gain access to the location to be contacted, the base plate has recesses which leave space on either side of the connector element in the area around the weld point, so that a welding tool can be introduced. This is a disadvantage, as the relay has a large unit size.